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Today President Barack Obama sent Congress a proposed budget request of $582.7 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund the Department of Defense in Fiscal Year 2017 (FY 2017).

The FY 2017 budget of $582.7 billion complies with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, giving the department both funding stability and protection from the damage of sequestration in FY 2016 and FY 2017. Within the confines of this negotiated amount, the budget request reflects the priorities necessary for our force today and in the future to best serve and protect our nation in a rapidly changing security environment. The base budget of $523.9 billion includes an increase of $2.2 billion over the FY 2016 enacted budget of $521.7 billion. As specified in the budget agreement, DoD’s FY 2017 overseas contingency operations budget is $58.8 billion, nearly the same as the FY 2016 enacted level of $58.6 billion. The combined request represents a total increase of $2.4 billion, or less than one percent over FY 2016 enacted levels.

The FY 2017 budget reflects recent strategic threats and changes that have taken place in Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Russian aggression,terrorism by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and others, and China’s island building and claims of sovereignty in international waters all necessitate changes in our strategic outlook and in our operational commitments. Threats and actions originating in Iran and North Korea negatively affect our interests and our allies. These challenges have sharpened the focus of our planning and budgeting.

Addressing these challenges as part of DoD’s mission to defend the nation requires new and innovative thinking, new operational posture in strategic regions, and new and enhanced capabilities. As we confront rising international challenges, we are seizing opportunities, developing new operational concepts, pioneering and dominating technology frontiers, reforming the defense enterprise, and building the force of the future.

“This budget marks a major inflection point for the Department of Defense,” Secretary of Defense Carter stated. “Even as we fight today’s fights, we must also be prepared for the fights that might come in 10, 20, or 30 years.”

The FY 2017 budget request strikes a prudent balance among the modernization of the joint force, its size, and its readiness, and continues to keep faith with service members and their families.

President’s Budget 2017 (PB 2017): Strategic Turning Point for the Department of Defense

The PB 2017 request of $582.7 billion in FY 2017 complies with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. It reflects our assessment of what kind of force we need today and tomorrow to best serve and protect our country, our friends and allies, and our national interests in today’s global security environment.

PB 2017 Commits to our Force and our Families. The PB 2017 reflects a defense program that effectively balances the need to meet today’s persistent operational demand and to build our readiness and capabilities for full-spectrum warfare. PB 2017 funding levels will allow the joint force to respond to steady state demand requirements, fulfill strategic obligations, and support the services’ readiness recovery plans.

The Army is optimizing combat training center throughput capacity, which will provide brigade combat teams with increased opportunities for full-spectrum training.

The Navy’s funding continues implementation of its Optimum Fleet Response Plan, which began phased implementation in FY 2015 and balances the preservation of critical maintenance and training while maximizing employability of Navy forces.

The Marine Corps fully funds the integrated combined arms exercises for all elements of its Marine Air Ground Task Forces.

The Air Force optimized flying hour and maintenance funding to maximize home station training opportunities and increase funding to modernize and expand existing Air Force training ranges and exercises here at home.

Compensation. To continue to provide a strong package of pay and benefits for both military and civilians and ensure DoD remains competitive for the best talent, the budget proposes a 1.6 percent basic pay increase for 2017.

End Strength. This budget funds an Army of 460,000 soldiers in the active Army, 335,000 soldiers in the Army National Guard, and 195,000 soldiers in the Army Reserve in FY 2017 – comprising 56 total Army brigade combat teams and associated enablers – and a Marine Corps of 182,000 active-duty Marines and 38,500 Marine reservists. For the Navy, the budget continues to grow the size, and, importantly, the capability, of the battle fleet; which grows from 280 ships today to 308 ships at the end of the FYDP and provides for 380,900 active-duty and reserve sailors in FY 2017. The budget also supports an Air Force of 491,700 active-duty, Reserve and National Guard Airmen, and includes 55 tactical fighter squadrons in FY 2017.

different from the one the department has been engaged with for the last 25 years, and it requires new ways of thinking and new ways of acting. This security environment is driving the focus of the Defense Department’s planning and budgeting.

Counterterrorism efforts. The budget request allows us to prosecute our battles against terrorism around the globe—Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and elsewhere—to ultimately defeat al Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Budget elements critical to success include:

The department’s overseas contingency operations request funds equipment and logistical support for the U.S. military forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and other areas in the region, as well as provides funds to build capacity for foreign security forces in support of counterterrorism activities.

PB 2017 funds intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support for counterterrorism (CT) that will build to 90 total combat air patrols for combatant commands.

Russia. The budget enables the department to take a strong, balanced approach to respond to Russia’s aggression in Eastern Europe.

We are countering Russia’s aggressive policies through investments in a broad range of capabilities. The FY 2017 budget request will allow us to modify and expand air defense systems, develop new unmanned systems, design a new long-range bomber and a new long-range stand-off cruise missile, and modernize our nuclear arsenal.

The budget quadruples last year’s request for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) to $3.4 billion in FY 2017 to reassure our NATO allies and deter Russian aggression. This funding supports prepositioning additional combat equipment, conducting additional training exercises, and enabling a continuous brigade-size rotation which will ensure we have three Army brigade combat teams in Europe at all times.

Asia-Pacific. The DoD remains committed to the Asia-Pacific rebalance. The U.S. long-term economic and security interests are inextricably linked to developments in the Asia-Pacific region. In terms of presence, investments in the FY 2017 budget continue to improve the geographic distribution, operational resilience, and political sustainability of our regional posture. This includes building up Guam as a strategic hub, inauguration of P-8 maritime patrol aircraft rotations in Singapore, implementation of rotational initiatives in Northern Australia, and positioning F-35 fighters in Japan in 2017.

Iran. While the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran is good for national security, DoD must still counter Iran’s malign influence against our friends and allies in the region. To combat those threats, the budget:

Continues efforts to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior by advancing preparations, posture, regional partnerships, and planning to preserve the President’s options for any contingency.

Requests $145.8 million in FY 2017 for support to Israel. This reflects our unshakeable commitment to Israel and its security and funds Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow, and other cooperative defense programs.

Cyber Threats. In response to increased threats, we are strengthening cyber defenses and increasing options available in case of a cyber-attack. The president’s budget funds $6.7 billion in FY 2017 for defensive and offensive cyberspace operations, capabilities, and cyber strategy.

PB 2017 Seizes Opportunities for the Future

Force of the Future. Our priorities are attracting a new generation of talent, promoting diversity, and rewarding merit; carving tunnels through the walls between DoD, the private sector, reserve force, and other agencies; and using technology and data analysis to improve personnel decisions and choices.

We also are proposing initiatives to recruit and retain the best talent. Those initiatives include setting a standard across the joint force that is competitive with the private sector in terms of maternity and paternity leave by providing service members with 12 weeks and 14 days of leave, respectively; increased availability of child care services; and greater assistance in preserving the ability of couples to start a family.

Defense Reforms. We will work with Congress on cost-saving and efficiency-inducing reforms, including:

Eliminating excess infrastructure and facilities to include requesting authority to initiate a new round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) in 2019.

Modernizing the TRICARE health plan to balance the needs of beneficiaries with requirements to maintain military medical readiness by incentivizing care at the military treatment facilities through lower fees and copays, as well as improving access to military care (e.g., timely medical appointments)

Continuing progress in auditability across the department in order to become audit ready by FY 2018.

Assuming responsibility ‎for development, design, security and operation of the background investigations information technology systems for the National Background Investigations Bureau. This will ensure cybersecurity is embedded throughout the process, thereby strengthening protection of federal employees’ and contractors’ personal information.

For FY 2017, we invest science and technology funds that advance key technology areas such as hypersonics, large data analytics, advanced materials, and human-machine teaming.

The budget invests a total of $112.1 billion in FY 2017 to develop and procure the equipment, technology and capabilities we need to deter and, if necessary, fight and win full-spectrum conflicts in the future.

The budget increases funding for our research and development accounts, which total $71.8 billion in FY 2017.

The budget reflects our continuing efforts to connect with America’s technology community. This includes $45 million in FY 2017 for our Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental (DIUx).

The budget includes $40 million in FY 2017 for our pilot program with In-Q-Tel, leveraging a venture capital model to help find innovative solutions for some of our most challenging problems.

The budget includes $137 million in FY 2017 to support our manufacturing innovation institutes, including one focused on flexible hybrid electronics.

Maritime

The PB 2017 grows the naval fleet by procuring seven major ships in FY 2017 and will increase the battle force by 28 ships, from 280 to 308 ships, in the next five years.

The PB 2017 budget includes $5.2 billion in FY 2017 to buy two Virginia-class attack submarines.

The PB 2017 increases funding for advanced undersea capabilities, including $37 million for an improved MK-48 torpedo, and $106 million for unmanned underwater vehicles in FY 2017.

To ensure enough fighter squadrons are ready to deploy to meet high overseas demand, the Air Force will transition the A-10 fleet two years later than previously planned, enabling a larger near-term force and investment in legacy capabilities.

The Unmanned Carrier-Launched Air Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program has been restructured and renamed the Carrier Based Aerial Refueling System (CBARS). The PB 2017 budget invests $89 million in FY 2017 for CBARS.

To maximize capabilities and extend the reach of our airborne systems, PB 2017 invests $759 million for two Navy MQ-4C Triton unmanned maritime surveillance and patrol aircraft in FY 2017.

The budget funds $2.2 billion in FY 2017 to continue procurement of the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft.

The PB 2017 will help provide our Army, Marine Corps, and special operations forces with greater lethality to ensure ground forces can deter and, if necessary, fight and win a full-spectrum conflict.

The budget includes a next-generation shoulder-launched weapon, a replacement for the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) that can be used for improved
counter-battery and long-range strike, and increased firepower for Stryker armored fighting vehicles, totaling $0.8 billion in FY 2017. The budget adds significant survivability improvements to the Stryker vehicle to complement the lethality upgrades added in FY 2016.

Additionally, the budget invests $735 million for 2,020 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles (JLTVs) in FY 2017. The JLTVs are intended to replace Humvees.

For the amphibious combat vehicle, which replaces the Marine Corps’ Amphibious Assault Vehicle, the budget invests $159 million in FY 2017.

Nuclear Enterprise

For the nuclear enterprise, while many of our systems remain effective, we are entering a period when multiple weapon systems require significant modernization. This drives an increase in the funding required over the FYDP and beyond.